New formula results in higher alimony

Story here. Excerpt:

'Based on an example Plog offered — a husband making $200,000 a year and his wife earning $50,000 — under the new formula, the husband's 40 percent per month would be $6,667, and 50 percent of the wife's income would be $2,083 per month, so the result under the formula would mean the wife receives about $4,583 per month.

Under the old system, he said, if the wife's expenses exceed her income by $1,500 a month, a court might order monthly maintenance of $1,500 to $2,000 to help meet her reasonable needs.

"If uniformly applied, the (new guidelines) will promote settlements," Plog said, "but the problem is that the payer will have a gun to the head."
...
The Women's Lobby made the bill a priority legislative issue, arguing that it would promote settlement and successful mediation, reduce litigation, and prevent women and families from falling into poverty. In 2011, single women with children had a median income of $26,705, the lowest of all family types in Colorado, compared with $42,075 for single men with children.

The bill was passed in April and signed into law by Gov. John Hickenlooper in May.'